Wednesday, April 9, 2014

SWORDS AND MYTHOS is the latest anthology from Innsmouth Free Press, combining tropes of heroic sword and sorcery with classic Cthulhu Mythos elements. I'd been looking forward to reading this since I first heard of it's coming out and was pleased to be able to include it in my "Year In Weird". It is a very strong collection of stories and essays that excels in not only paying homage to the classic sword and sorcery genre but also explores the Mythos in new and original ways; many of the stories include non-traditional protagonists and take place in unusual settings. For me, themed anthologies are normally a mixed bag but with SWORD AND MYTHOS I was reading gem after gem and it was hard to pick out my favorites. Here are the stories that stayed with me:

Jon Carver of Barzoon, You Misunderstood by Graham Darling is a powerful prose poem that brilliantly brings to life a faraway world with vivid, alien imagery...

The Wood of Ephraim by Edward M Erdelac is for me the stand out piece in the collection. Erdelac firmly places his tale in the time of King David and writes the creepiest, most gruesome of the entries here that kept me turning page after page to get to the end, only to turn around and start it over again...

Truth Is Order and Order Is Truth by Nadia Bulkin is a beautifully written tale that incorporates Father Dagon and Mother Hydra into the story of Princess Dhani and her search for the land of her dead mother, fabled Jungkuno...The Bones of Heroes by Orrin Grey is a short, dark tale the real horror hiding behind the story of a child abducting witch...

The Serpents of Albion by Adrian Chamberlin brings the Cthulhu and Arthurian mythologies together in a wonderful mash up that cleverly reimagines the fall of King Arthur to Mordred...

In Xochitl in Cuicatl in Shub-Niggurath by Nelly Geraldine Garcia-Rosas (translated from the Spanish by Silvia Moreno-Garcia) is exotic tale of warriors, blood sacrifice and ancient gods. I should definitely look for more from this author...

The collection is rounded out by informative essays from G W Thomas, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R Stiles that detail how, in many cultures and media, "sword and mythos" has really been around for awhile.

SWORD AND MYTHOS is a great collection of stories that answers the question "What if..." by blending the Cthulhu Mythos throughout history, across the oceans and on other worlds, taking the beloved Mythos in new, wonderful directions. I cannot recommend it enough; it's a must read for lovers of weird fiction and disciples of Cthulhu both!